“The Langston Hughes Medal is awarded to highly distinguished writers from throughout the African American diaspora for their distinguished contributions to the arts and letters. Among past recipients of this award are James Baldwin, Gwendolyn Brooks, Toni Cade Bambara, Paule Marshall, Toni Morrison, Ralph W. Ellison, Alice Walker, Maya Angelou, August Wilson, Chinua Achebe, Derek Walcott, and Octavia Butler, to name a few.”

Here is a video of a Q&A with the author at the 2011 Langston Hughes Festival:

“They told us so. For years before the crash, economists Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff presciently sketched out just how bad the global credit crunch could become based on their groundbreaking study of eight centuries of financial crises — the work that culminated in the publication of their bestselling 2009 book, This Time Is Different. In their study, the two found that in all the crises, “excessive debt accumulation … often poses greater systemic risks than it seems during a boom.”

“This year’s political upheavals have been as much about cities as countries. From Cairo’s Tahrir Square to London’s Tottenham, we’ve seen vivid illustrations of how urban spaces can shape social movements. Saskia Sassen, an academic guru who famously coined the term “global city,” has been very much part of the conversation, arguing that the same melting-pot factors that make cities drivers of capitalism can also make them highly unstable. “The poor in Britain, living next to enclaves of wealth and privilege, chose street riots to deliver their message,” she wrote.”

The Crossley ID Guide has terrific visuals — exactly the kind of thing that appeals to kids (of all ages, I’d argue, but in this case, of the younger ages). Check out Fisher’s spot-on IDs of the owls in the Crossley ID Guide in this video.

The authors write about the failure of the budget supercommittee and caution that this “is only the latest breakdown in an attempt at compromise in Washington. Politicians keep trying to fashion failsafe solutions to the capital’s uncompromising mind-set, without understanding that there is no external escape from an environment that rewards those who stand tenaciously on their principles and demonize their opponents.”

With the public growing increasingly frustrated by the failures of Congress to effectively negotiate and compromise in recent months, Gutmann and Thompson sound a warning bell, writing, “Members of Congress need to change their minds about compromise, or voters will need to change the members of Congress.”

As we gear up for the holiday season, this week’s mammal from the popular Mammals of North America App is the Caribou — also known as a reindeer! Caribou are found in Northern sub-polar regions including Canada and parts of Alaska, though they are endangered in certain areas.

Fun facts: The earliest fossil evidence of caribou comes from Germany and has been dated to about 440,000 years ago! Caribou are also the only species of deer where both sexes have antlers.

We invite you to browse and download two new catalogs featuring great books by great authors.

In the religion catalog you can check out the Lives of Great Religious Books series with books by Garry Wills, Donald S. Lopez, Jr., and Martin E. Marty. You will also find new books from Robert Wuthnow, Paula Fredriksen, Mark Chaves, Leora Batnitzky, Peter Schäfer and Timothy Matovina – just to name a few.

In the anthropology catalog look for new books by Chloe Silverman, Peter Benson, Junko Kitanaka, Stephen J. Collier, Duana Fullwiley, and Marcia C. Inhorn. Forthcoming this May are books by Partha Chatterjee, Thomas Blom Hansen, and a book by Parvis Ghassem-Fachandi. Be the first to check them out in the catalog.

Christmas is a time of seasonal cheer, family get-togethers, holiday parties, and-gift giving. Lots and lots—and lots—of gift giving. It’s hard to imagine any Christmas without this time-honored custom. But let’s stop to consider the gifts we receive—the rooster sweater from Grandma or the singing fish from Uncle Mike. How many of us get gifts we like? How many of us give gifts not knowing what recipients want? Did your cousin really look excited about that jumping alarm clock? Lively and informed, Scroogenomics illustrates how our consumer spending generates vast amounts of economic waste—to the shocking tune of eighty-five billion dollars each winter. Economist Joel Waldfogel provides solid explanations to show us why it’s time to stop the madness and think twice before buying gifts for the holidays.

When we buy for ourselves, every dollar we spend produces at least a dollar in satisfaction, because we shop carefully and purchase items that are worth more than they cost. Gift giving is different. We make less-informed choices, max out on credit to buy gifts worth less than the money spent, and leave recipients less than satisfied, creating what Waldfogel calls “deadweight loss.” Waldfogel indicates that this waste isn’t confined to Americans—most major economies share in this orgy of wealth destruction. While recognizing the difficulties of altering current trends, Waldfogel offers viable gift-giving alternatives.

By reprioritizing our gift-giving habits, Scroogenomics proves that we can still maintain the economy without gouging our wallets, and reclaim the true spirit of the holiday season.

“Waldfogel delivers a badly needed poke in the eye at holiday-time consumer madness, positing that not only is compulsory gift giving stressful and expensive, but it’s economically unsound. . . . This lively, spot-on book may be the one gift that still makes sense to buy come Black Friday.”—Publishers Weekly

“Joel Waldfogel is one of the smartest and funniest economists on the planet. I think of him every time I start to unwrap a present. Buy Scroogenomics for your friends and family. It makes the perfect Christmas gift.”—Ian Ayres, author of Super Crunchers: Why Thinking-by-Numbers Is the New Way to Be Smart

The random draw for this book with be Friday 12/2 at 3 pm EST. Be sure to “Like” us on Facebook if you haven’t already to be entered to win!

For The Birder Geek: you know who you are. This guide provides naturalistic artwork in real settings- urban, suburban, and rural- for the birder of every feather.

Cloth Flexibound | $35.00

ISBN: 978-0-691-14778-9

544 pp. | 7-1/2 x 10 | 10,000 color images

THE QUOTABLE THOREAU

Edited by Jeffrey S. Cramer

For The Transcendentalist Geek: deep thinker and quoter of deep thoughts such as, “Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of generations and nations.” Henry David Thoreau: a crunchy granola visionary.

Cloth | $19.95

ISBN: 978-0-691-13997-5

552 pp. | 4 1/2 x 7 1/2 | 20 halftones.

THE NEW ATLAS OF WORLD HISTORY

Global Events at a Glance

John Haywood

For The Map Geek: here it is, all in one place; an at-a-glance comparison across centuries and continents, tracing trade routes, religion, and culture (in full color.) Geek out!

Cloth | $49.50

ISBN: 978-0-691-15269-1

256 pp. | 12 1/2 x 11 | 350 color illus. 10 line illus. 55 maps

WILDFLOWER WONDERS

The 50 Best Wildflower Sites in the World

Bob Gibbons with a foreword by Richard Mabey

For The Stop-and-Smell-the-Flowers Geek: Wish you could take a mental snapshot of every lovely bloom you’ve ever seen? Buy this book and you can own some truly stunning professional photographs.

Cloth | $27.95

ISBN13: 978-0-691-15229-5

192 pp. | 8 1/2 x 10 | 200 color photos

THE QUOTABLE JEFFERSON

Collected and Edited by John P. Kaminski

For The Founding Father Groupie Geek: you love American History and probably majored in political science or foreign relations. You also know that democracy “will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.” Hear, hear, Mr. Jefferson.

Cloth | $19.95

ISBN13: 978-0-691- 12267-0

576 pp. | 4 x 7 | 11 halftones

SCROOGENOMICS

Why You Shouldn’t Buy Presents for the Holidays
Joel Waldfogel

For The Anti-Consumerist Geek: You think reindeer sweaters and singing fish are bad gifts. So does Joel Waldfogel. This is the wry antidote to mindless cheer and you can’t wait to buy this book for all your friends.

Cloth | $9.95
ISBN: 978-0-691-14264-7
186 pp. | 4 x 6

AVIAN ARCHITECTURE

How Birds Design, Engineer & Build

Peter Goodfellow

For The Naturalist Geek: you’re not quite a birder, not quite an ornithologist but you appreciate nature and a detailed, visual guide to the architecture of a bird’s habitat.

Cloth | $27.95

ISBN: 978-0-691-14849-6

160 pp. | 8 x 10 | 300 color illus.

THE ULTIMATE QUOTABLE EINSTEIN

Collected and Edited by Alice Calaprice

For The Einstein Fan Club Geek: don’t be shy. This is your chance to own the granddaddy of quotables with all of his greatest hits. We know you’ve memorized them (in alphabetical order by topic, no less.)

Cloth | $24.95

ISBN: 978-0-691-13817-6

576 pp. | 4 1/2 x 7 1/2 | 27 halftones.

THE PRINCETON FIELD GUIDE TO DINOSAURS

Gregory S. Paul

For The Jurassic Park Geek: you know all the species and all the lines. You’ll recognize the illustrations from Paul, who was a lead dino-designer on set, and you’ll be fighting your eight-year-old kid for posession of the book.

This week’s featured mammal from the Mammals of North America app is the Eastern Chipmunk. As the weather gets colder, you might see chipmunks collecting food to store for the winter in their extensive underground burrows — these burrows can be up to 3.5 metres long, and often have multiple entrances.

Upcoming Events

Following an unprecedented economic boom fed by foreign investment, the Russian Revolution triggered the worst sovereign default in history. Bankers and Bolsheviks tells the dramatic story of this boom and bust, chronicling the forgotten experiences of leading[...]

The troubling ethics and politics of philanthropy Is philanthropy, by its very nature, a threat to today’s democracy? Though we may laud wealthy individuals who give away their money for society’s benefit, Just Giving shows how such[...]

To what extent was Machiavelli a “Machiavellian”? Was he an amoral adviser of tyranny or a stalwart partisan of liberty? A neutral technician of power politics or a devout Italian patriot? A reviver of pagan[...]

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